Five new British records ratified by BRFC

The BRFC met at the Natural History Museum, London, on 12th June 2019. Present were: Mike Heylin OBE (Chairman), Oliver Crimmen (Scientific Advisor, Natural History Museum), Andrew Nellist (Freshwater Specialist), Mat Mander (Marine Specialist) and Nick Simmonds (Secretary).

The committee considered and accepted the following record claims as being duly ratified:

Simon Ellis’s Grayling (Thymallus thymallus) of 4lb 8oz, caught on fly from a Wessex river on 19th February. Simon’s fish beats Paul Mildred’s 10-year record of 4lb 4oz 8dr, also from a Wessex river.

Ray Edwards’s shore-caught Brill (Scophthalmus rhombus), ratified at 8lb 3oz, caught from the Chesil Beach at Abbotsbury on 17th November 2018, which beats Mr Fletcher’s 39 year-old record from Guernsey of 7lb 7oz 8dr.

Kevin Copeland’s boat-caught Almaco Jack (Seriola rivoliana), ratified at 2lb 2oz, caught from a reef off Milford Haven on 17th October 2018. Kevin’s fish very narrowly beats John Varcoe’s record, caught just a few days earlier, of 2lb 1oz 14dr. Kevin’s fish had already been accepted as a Welsh record prior to his claim for the British record and, like John’s fish before, had to be identified by X-ray of a vital bone structure at the Natural History Museum.

Jeff Fisk’s Derbio (Trachinotus ovatus), of 214 grams, caught on 6th October 2018 from Chesil Beach in Dorset. Jeff’s Derbio is the first entry into the British record lists for this species.

Gary Mitchell’s Spurdog (Squalus acanthias), verified at 23lb 2oz, caught from a South Devon shore mark on 30th November 2018. Gary’s fish beats Cameron Atkinson’s 2018 record of 18lb.

The Committee would like to remind anglers that in the event of the capture of a potential record fish, the captor should first contact the British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee without delay.
Captors of potential record fish should contact the Secretary, Nick Simmonds, at the Angling Trust, on 01568 620447 or by email at brfc@anglingtrust.net Nick will record the details of the capture and advise the claimant on progressing the claim.